With this first on-line edition of The Advising Administrator
we wish you all a happy and prosperous 2001! We hope you will
assist us in refining this publication to be one that: a) keeps
you informed about NACADA and Commission activities and events,
b) provides you with examples of "best practices" in advising
administration, c) allows you to share your own ideas regarding
the administration of advising programs AND, d) allows us to
share with each other some of the humorous moments that help
to balance our frustrations at busy times and reinforces our
commitment to higher education. We look forward to hearing your
feedback about this edition of the newsletter so that we can
continue to refine it to be a publication of interest and utility
for those in our field.
Herta Teitelbaum
Chair, Advising Administration Commission
Susan Campbell
Vice-Chair, Advising Administration Commisstion
NATIONAL UPDATES
NACADA Administrator Professional Development Task Force
Submitted by Ruth Darling, University of Tennessee, Chair
Last October, Buddy Ramos appointed a task force whose charge
was to consider professional development opportunities offered
by NSACADA for administrators, to determine the needs of NACADA's
membership and to make recommendations for a comprehensive administrator
professional development program. Members of the task force
include:
Ruth Darling, Chair (University of Tennessee)
Wes Habley (ACT)
Nancy King (Kennesaw State University)
Alice Reinarz (University of Michigan)
Herta Teitelbaum (Cornell University)
Dick Vallandingham (Johnson County Community College)
Eric White (Penn State University)
The members reviewed the very successful Administrators' Forum
that was offered immediately following the 2000 NACADA Summer
Institute and the Pre-Conference Administrators' Workshop offered
during the Orlando NACADA National Conference. Eric White and
Alice Reinarz facilitated both of these seminars. They received
excellent evaluations and the sessions had significant waiting
lists that consisted of members who wanted to attend the seminars
if cancellations occurred.
Based on specific participant feedback, the Task Force will
present the following implementation plan and recommendations
to the NACADA Board during the Spring Board meeting:
- The 2001 Administrators' Forum will be held June
22 and 23, prior to the NACADA Summer Institute at the University
of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. The faculty will be
expanded to accommodate discussion groups by institutional
type and at least 70 spaces will be available for registrants
(double from last year). The Administrators' Forum will concentrate
on issues directly affecting administrators seeking to improve
advising programs at their institutions.
- The Ottawa Pre-Conference Administrators' workshop
will have three sections (2-year, 4-year public and 4-year
private). There will be additional workshop leaders and the
capacity for the workshop will be substantially increased
to better meet the demand at the national conference.
- The task force recommends a stand-alone Administrator's
Forum that will take the place of the forum offered with
the Summer Institute. The format will be 2 days with an expanded
faculty and curriculum. This Forum is proposed for early Spring
2002.
- An e-mail questionnaire will be sent to targeted
groups of members within NACADA asking for input on leadership/administrative
professional development topics, timing of a stand-alone forum,
and locations.
- A NACADA Professional Development brochure will
be developed marketing the opportunities available for professional
development by the organization. This brochure will address
all levels of need, e.g., administrators, continuing education,
new advisors.
Please look for the upcoming announcements concerning administrator
professional development. Any questions or feedback can be sent
to Ruth Darling, Chair (rdarling@utk.edu).
COMMISSION NEWS
The notes from the Commission meeting held at the NACADA national
conference in Orlando, Florida in October are available for
review on the new Advising Administration Commission site
on the NACADA Home Page. Highlights of these notes include the
presentation of the recently revised and adopted goals for the
Commission and, more importantly, a heartfelt "THANK YOU" to
outgoing Commission Chair, Kevin McKenna (Clark University)
for his hard-work and dedication to this Commission. THANK
YOU, KEVIN!
To review a copy of the minutes, the Commission's goals, and
our comments about Kevin, check out the Advising Administration
Commissions' site on the NACADA Home Page at http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Commissions/C05/index.htm
BEST PRACTICES
Compiled by Jayne Drake, Temple University jayne.drake@temple.edu
The Case Study Approach to Advisor Training
Submitted by Albert R. Matheny matheny@polisci.ufl.edu
University of Florida
In the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University
of Florida, virtually everyone participates in the advisor training
process. The program we have developed in the Academic Advising
Center (AAC) covers a wide range of topics. In training, we
use "cases" of students who pose really challenging questions
for the new advisors. Student roles are played by veteran advisors
in order to make the training "real." Further, we have an on-line
advising manual that we can access off the AAC web page. The
advising manual is frequently referred to by all advisors and
we are constantly updating it. We've also made it available
to the college's undergraduate coordinators, and they and their
support staff members use it regularly as well.
Advisor Education - More Support for Using Case Studies
Submitted by Sara Leigh leighsa@mnstate.edu
University of Minnesota
The use of case studies is often suggested for advisor training.
I have found that making case studies three dimensional works
better. I started using "3-D" advising practice several years
ago, and the experience, resulting discussions, and feedback
have always been positive.
The concept is simple -- instead of putting a piece of paper
in front of the advisors, you put students. It takes additional
preparation, but is well worth the effort. You will need the
cooperation of willing students you trust and will also need
to create some fabricated advising documents for them. Design
the scenarios to coincide with the focus of your workshop, e.g.,
the overeager student, the under-prepared student, the completely
noncommittal sophomores in need of a major, the student suffering
from depression, the student on probation, etc. You will need
to instruct the students to hit particular topics or behaviors,
but I have found that the more latitude I give the students
the better the end result (for some reason students seem more
eager to participate if I tell them the idea is to "stump the
advisor".) I have found that this concept works best if advisors
meet with the "3-D" advisees in groups of three to four.
Observations and Feedback:
- I have actually had a group or two treat the student like
a case study on paper. They would discuss the situation among
themselves and completely ignore the presence of the student.
- Advisors who were quick to "solve" case study problems
realized that it is not so easy to do when you are dealing
with a person face-to-face.
- I often get feedback about the amount of information gleaned
from colleagues during these sessions, so I recommend splitting
up advisors from the same department or disciplinary area.
- I had an extremely outgoing, upbeat, high-achiever portray
a student suffering from depression. Her portrayal was so
convincing that two faculty members stopped by the next day
to make certain she was okay!
The response has been so good that even when I try to add variety
to these sessions by reverting to paper case studies, participants
ask when the students will be arriving!
A Structured Approach to Readmission Decision-Making
Submitted by Catherine A Murphy Cmurphy@UH.EDU
University of Houston
Advisors in the University of Houston's University Studies
Division (USD) have developed a readmission process that provides
a structured approach to readmission decision-making.
Detailed documentation and clear expectations result in more
uniform and rational decisions, based on university policy,
office experience, and useful precedent. This structure
allows all USD advisors (after initial training) to advise students
seeking readmission from suspension.
USD students who have been suspended are contacted by letter
at the beginning of each semester and informed of the USD readmission
requirements. Suspended students sometimes come (or are
referred) to USD because they have not been successful in their
current major. All students who request readmission from
suspension advising are provided with printed information at
intake. This document is available at: http://www.uh.edu/academics/usd/usdforms/readmiss.htl.
During this initial advising session the advisor makes the
first of a series of decisions about the student's potential
to return. Is the student eligible for readmission (e.g.,
has the required suspension term elapsed)? Is a contract
required? (Because University Studies Division students
may only be undeclared for their first 60 hours, any student
seeking USD readmission who has earned 55 or more hours must
enter into a contract with a degree granting college before
readmission can be considered.). Has the student earned
coursework elsewhere during the term of suspension or is the
student currently enrolled elsewhere, and if so, has the student
maintained a 2.0 GPA on all attempted coursework?
If the student is eligible for readmission, the advisor releases
the readmission application to the student, explains the readmission
procedure, and outlines the documents the student must complete
and return. When the student returns the appropriate documents,
an appointment is set up for a readmission interview.
During the readmission interview the advisor reviews personal
and academic information and, if applicable, any transfer work
and contract information. An Academic Agreement is prepared
which includes a review of problems, referrals and assignments
to support student success, and a review of academic requirements.
After the interview the advisor completes a Comment Card.
If the advisor recommends readmission, s/he also fills out a
Readmission Authorization Form and forwards the readmission
packet to the Assistant Vice President for University Studies.
The Assistant Vice President reviews the packet for policy adherence
and completeness and finalizes the readmission decision.
TECHNOLOGY AND ADVISING
Advising Your Students No Matter What the Time or Distance
Submitted by Susan Campbell sSCAMP@USM.Maine.edu
With the assistance and support of the NACADA Advisor Training
and Development Commission, a task force has been working to
develop a web-based resource guide and activities manual related
to using technology to advise students. Members
of this task force are: Ann Prime-Monaghan (Thomas Edison
State College), Elizabeth Clow (Georgia Perimeter College),
Pamela Edwards (University of Southern Maine), and Susan
Campbell (University of Southern Maine).
The resource guide will highlight the changing context of higher
education and the rise in the use of technology. From
there, the guide will address different technologies, present
descriptions, challenges and benefits of using various technologies
in advising students, and then link to activities to help advisors
learn more about particular technologies and how to use them.
The web-based nature of the guide will allow for the constant
updating required to keep pace with technological change.
What emerged from the 100+ participants at the session at the
national conference on this topic was the need to focus on technology
skills and ALSO on the legal and ethical issues associated with
the use of technology in advising. Based upon the
feedback received, time will be devoted in the resource guide
to legal and ethical issues; particular attention will be paid
to FERPA. An exciting aspect of this project is that,
as we know, many of the legal and ethical issues regarding technology
are just emerging, making this work timely for all.
We will keep you updated regarding the status of the resource
guide and activities book through this newsletter.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
Academic Advising Administrators Forum
June 22-23, 2001
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
The Administrators Forum offers an opportunity for administrators
to focus on administrative challenges, related to advising:
- Student/advisor ratios
- Morale and communication
- Budget priorities
- Institutional resource interface
- Assessing and evaluating program effectiveness
- Appropriate technologies
- Maintenance of student data
For more information call 785-532-5717.
HELP WANTED
Advising Administration Commission Steering Committee Reps
Needed
We currently have two vacancies on the Steering Committee for
the Advising Administration Commission. We need representation
from Regions 3 and 8. If you are interested, or know of
someone who might be, please e-mail the Commission Chair, Herta
Teitelbaum at teitelbaum@ecornell.com
CONTRIBUTORS AND
CONTRIBUTIONS WANTED
The Next Issue of The Advising Administrator
Looking for a way to get involved in NACADA but know you don't
have much time to spare? How about contributing to the
next issue of The Advising Administrator? It only takes
a few minutes to send us a note about your dynamite academic
advising program. Or perhaps you've taken on a new job
and want others to know? Or perhaps you or others in your
college/university have received special recognition for some
activity related to advising. Let us know..help us share
these good things with others.
In each issue we will highlight as many of the "Best
Practices" in advising and advising administration that
have been submitted. Please send your submissions to Jayne
Drake jayne.drake@temple.edu
or Susan Campbell SCAMP@USM.Maine.edu.
We ask that those submitting be willing to respond to any requests
for information they might receive.
"News from the Field" Have a new job?
Someone you know in advising receive special recognition as
an administrator of an advising program? Let us know.
Send submissions to Susan Campbell SCAMP@USM.Maine.edu
We will print as many as we can!
The deadline for submissions for the next issue of The
Advising Administrator is April 30, 2001.
FEEDBACK! FEEDBACK! FEEDBACK!
Let us know what you want from this newsletter. Send your
comments, suggestions, criticisms, recommendations, etc., to
Susan Campbell, University of Southern Maine, SCAMP@USM.Maine.edu
THANKS to all those folks who have contributed
to this issue of The Advising Administrator. A very special
thank you goes to Jayne Drake (Temple University) for coordinating
the "Best Practices" section of this newsletter. We hope
that this section grows and develops so that we might share with
each other all of the wonderful things we are doing in the field
of advising.
